


Play Pretend

by TheAzureFox



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Gen, all you need to know is that Kusanagi's brother isn't in shock, based on theories and speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-08 05:52:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12248295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAzureFox/pseuds/TheAzureFox
Summary: In which Kusanagi's brother leads a secret life as Revolver, leader of the Knights of Hanoi.(speculative fic)





	Play Pretend

**Author's Note:**

> Note: Rei = the name given to Kusanagi's little brother as it is officially still unconfirmed. 
> 
> This was what I was gonna post last week but I never got around to it so I finished it for this week and here you go. A theory on why Shoichi's little brother could still possibly be Revolver. 
> 
> Enjoy.

Pretending to be in shock was hard. It required a certain precision of charisma, a certain knack for destroying any shred of personality one maintained before. Cunningness was necessary to maintain a persona; persuasion was needed to avoid the suspicion that comes with faking a self.

Rei Kusanagi stares at blank walls, stares at gray paint as it fades with time. Beams of sunlight slant down from the windows of prison bars. A table and some chairs linger a ways away. Rei aches to rest his back on the comfort of such items – however, he keeps it pinned to cement barriers and blinks at the nothingness.

“Nothing’s changed, I’m afraid,” a doctor says. It’s a red-haired nurse with bright cherry lips and a white lab coat that sweeps around her like a wave. “We’ve been unable to administer a reaction from him.”

“Then keep trying!” a man snaps and Rei manages to keep himself from flinching. “He’s got to…he’s got to wake up sometime!”

“I hear you, Mr. Kusanagi,” the doctor holds up a hand to reassure him, voice calm and calculating. “But you have to understand that we’ve done all that we can. There’s no more solutions left to try.”

The man Rei knows as brother closes his hands into fists. From the corner of Rei’s vision, he can tell that Shoichi is shaking and ready to pounce. He wonders what will happen when Shoichi realizes his brother has been lying to him the whole entire time. It wouldn’t end well, Rei would imagine. Shoichi would be hurt and furious at his brother for playing such tricks, furious at Rei for playing “sick” when Shoichi needed him most.

 _But you have Yusaku, brother,_ Rei tells himself, trying to play off the fears he’ll have to deal with when all is said and done. _You don’t need me right now – you have_ him _._

It’d been a calculated move on his part, one that his “father” had very well warned him against. Whoever ended up getting attached with Shoichi was only going to be a substitute. While Rei could not manage his brother’s affections, could not hint that he had even an ounce of a rational mind, he knew Yusaku would very well take his place. The boy was an orphan, a castaway who was left traumatized and left with no family left to speak of. He was the perfect fit to fill the void in Shoichi’s heart and he was the perfect fit to give Rei the time he needed to fulfill his plots.

When the time came for Rei to “re-emerge”, he wasn’t sure how Yusaku was going to react. Would the boy despise him for reappearing in Shoichi’s life? Would he envy the difference in affection Shoichi was sure to show? Rei didn’t know, but, he didn’t really care either. Yusaku was a temporary replacement for Rei’s own presence in Shoichi’s life – once Rei’s mission was fulfilled, he was going to kick Yusaku aside and regain the role he once lost.

Shoichi says something more the nurse, berating her in his frustration. To her credit, she remained calm and professional as Rei’s brother let his emotions get the best of him. Rei stared at the walls across from him, ignoring his Shoichi’s prodding gaze and the agonizing paranoia that haunted such gray eyes. He didn’t blink, didn’t show any signs of comprehension at this brother’s words and didn’t make any move that was not forced upon him. It was hard to remain still, hard to nestle his chin in-between his legs and play pretend as his brother fretted endlessly over him. Rei wanted to say: “Hey, back off, I’m _fine_ ”. He wanted to say: “It’s alright, I’m _alright_ ”. But, most of all, he just wanted Shoichi to _leave_.

A door opens and Rei gets to see his wish fulfilled. An older doctor with gray hair steps in, addressing Shoichi Kusanagi with a strict glare.

“I’m afraid visiting time is over,” he says, beckoning the man forward. “The patient is stressed out enough as it is and I’d really rather not worsen it past this point. Please proceed outside and we will discuss matters in a more peaceful and less hassling manner there.”

Shoichi obeys, sending one last look at Rei before leaving the room. There’s a moment of quickly-tossed around words, a session of goodbyes and then, finally, silence.

The red-haired nurse glances out the window and then looks to Rei. “You can stop pretending, Master Revolver,” she tells him. “Your brother is gone now.”

He blinks and comes to life, stretching his legs and offering up a yawn as he gets to his feet.

“Thank you, Minerva,” he tells the nurse, blinking his eyes clear of shock and detachment. He accepts a lab coat from her and picks up the golden bullet earrings from her outstretched hands. His eyes soften at their appearance and he places the symbols of power in his ears. “How’s Father’s condition?”

“Stable,” she tells him, checking the outside world in case Shoichi has reappeared and then gesturing Revolver outside.

He emerges, his face a mask of calm stability as he proceeds past various other doctors and nurses nod at his him as he walks by.

A man materializes by his side like a phantom and dips his head in greeting as he gives the slightest of bows. “Master Revolver,” the man says, “Playmaker has made his move. The Knights of Hanoi need you as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, Specter,” he ascends a floor, stepping past patients and employees alike.

Somewhere in this mess is a kid like him, a kid whose identity has been stolen from him by the likes of SOL Tech just like it has Revolver.

Somewhere in this mess is an older brother who’s grieving and mourning.

Somewhere in this mess is a man wrongly accused, a “father” whose purpose for reincarnation brought him upon a deathbed of pixels and virtual worlds.

Somewhere in this mess is a boy who pretends, a younger brother who plays sick and ill when, in reality, he’s the mastermind of an empire and the heir to the throne.

And, somewhere in this mess is Rei Kusanagi, brother to Shoichi Kusanagi and the real-life alias of Revolver, leader of the Knights of Hanoi.

~~~

Yusaku Fujiki stands outside the hospital alongside Shoichi Kusanagi, an umbrella in hand as the rain of the outside world pours down upon them. The man is shaking, as he always is after such encounters with his brother. His hands are curled into fists, his shoulders tense as he looks to the floor of the sidewalk in defeat.

“You should’ve come with me,” Shoichi says as he manages to calm himself through deep breaths. “You should’ve seen him.”

“You know I can’t,” Yusaku replies, a bitter smile on his face. “No matter how much I want to I can’t endure... _that_. All that suffering...it only makes the truth hurt so much worse.”

Another breath. “Right, sorry,” Shoichi sighs. He straightens out.

“Come, let’s go back home,” Yusaku gestures forward and Shoichi nods, beginning to walk forward. Yusaku steps after him, pausing only to glance up at a hospital window…

And to see a smiling boy that looks eerily like Kusanagi’s brother staring down upon him.

He waves and, before Yusaku can say anything, he vanishes from the window.

“Yusaku, what’s wrong?”

Shoichi stares at the boy, gaze inquiring. Yusaku’s gaze shifts from the window to him, lips parting into words he cannot say. Instead, he decides on silence, shaking his head and nudging his confidant onwards.

“It’s nothing.”

As if he can sense Yusaku is lying, Shoichi narrows his eyes. However, if he suspects he’s getting an answer, he receives none. Yusaku holds his tongue. It’s best if he doesn’t worry Shoichi further. It’s best if he doesn’t suggest that his confidant’s brother was awake and walking, much less _smiling_ at Yusaku as if the boy somehow _recognized_ _him_.

“Right.”

They walk on.

**Author's Note:**

> So, if anyone knows the series Keepers of the Lost Cities, you'll know what I'm trying to replicate here and why this theory is a thing.
> 
> Basically, in it, there is a character (whose name I forget - Brady, maybe?) who pretends to have his mind "shattered". Around those who thought him to have lost his mind due to a traumatic experience, he acts as though he has lost his self, his mind, and who he once was. However, in reality, he is perfectly sane.
> 
> Well, with episode 19 being a thing, the whole Revolver = Shoichi's brother theory seemed to have gotten torn to shreds. I'm not a fan of the theory personally, but I was wondering if VRAINS would pull the same trick they did in Keepers of the Lost Cities and make their main villain pretend to be "insane" (as Kusanagi's traumatized brother seems to be unable to respond to the world. Unlike in Keepers of the Lost Cities though, he's not "insane" but merely has a "lost mind") while he is actually "sane" (as Revolver because we all know Revolver is a logical and cunning thinker right now).
> 
> Also, the scene at the end was something I wanted to add because if VRAINS wanted to mess with our mind then if we see Shoichi's brother both in shock and traumatized then also walking around in the same episode seemingly mocking our protagonist (or even Shoichi too) it'd definitely be an interesting twist that would cause more questions than answers.


End file.
